Wait...is there something wrong with wearing socks and sandals? I do it all the time...
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Peter OlsonApr 7 '11 at 1:18

5

@Peter: depends where you are. In a lot of parts of mainstream US/UK culture it’s considered the epitome of unfashionableness — something that’s always out of style. It’s also stereotyped as being common among people from certain countries — particularly Germans, in my experience. I’ve also known people in the UK who enjoyed wearing them partly to thumb their nose at that sort of fashion consensus… and also a few who just wore them unselfconsciously because it’s sometimes comfortable.
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PLLApr 7 '11 at 4:30

@Peter: I was wondering the same thing, haha. :)
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MehrdadApr 9 '11 at 1:01

Verboten/forbidden is way too strong. Gauche does not fit the last one.
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MitchApr 6 '11 at 22:42

1

I consider faux pas and frowned upon much weaker than verboten. Also whether any of these apply, and they may is still very dependent on circumsatnces for the voting item, whereas I can see that they might apply without context to the other three.
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MitchApr 6 '11 at 22:51

3

I'd go with gauche myself, in all four cases. It's a bit "posh", but for a one-word solution it's the best I can think of.
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user1579Apr 6 '11 at 22:59

I also like its variant, "not the done thing", or (usually ironically "not the Done Thing".) I first saw the term in Arthur Rex, when Mordred is trying to foment a rebellion: he saw Camelot for the first time and hated it, because "It reeked of the Done Thing" (or something like that; I don't have my copy to hand.) I'd never heard the phrase, but I understood it immediately, and it seemed to capture an entire system of thought/life/society in one phrase.
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MT_HeadJun 22 '11 at 17:43

—Synonyms
1–3. inapplicable, unsuited, unfit. 2. indecorous. Improper, indecent, unbecoming, unseemly are applied to that which is unfitting or not in accordance with propriety. Improper has a wide range, being applied to whatever is not suitable or fitting, and often specifically to what does not conform to the standards of conventional morality: improper diet; improper behavior in church; improper language. Indecent, a strong word, is applied to what is offensively contrary to standards of propriety and especially of modesty: indecent behavior, literature. Unbecoming is applied to what is especially unfitting in the person concerned: conduct unbecoming a minister. Unseemly is applied to whatever is unfitting or improper under the circumstances: unseemly mirth.

I don't think so, I'm young yet I use it... (your call on how you speak though)
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l0FtApr 7 '11 at 12:48

it's possible to be young and still sound like a right old fart. In anywhere I've ever lived (and I've moved around the UK a lot), this is quite a posh way to speak.
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Lightness Races in OrbitApr 7 '11 at 12:49

It sounds like the correct word to use no matter what you sound like in the end. Still, having lived in England for quite some time I don't believe you @tomalak-geretkal "sound like an old fart" when using it.
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l0FtApr 7 '11 at 13:04

I've lived in the UK all my life in various places, and would never consider using this term. It could be regional, but then again I've lived in most UK regions. And there's more to "the correct word to use" than meaning: nuance is everything.
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Lightness Races in OrbitApr 8 '11 at 9:44

@tomalak-geretkal ok lets not be absolute, it doesn't matter how long you lived and where, anyone can have different opinions on many things but that doesn't mean he's right or wrong. Also, some words may 'sound' differently on different people.
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l0FtApr 8 '11 at 9:52

Well, I'm not a linguist, and I could be completely wrong, but I thought that using "discouraged" in this context (as natural as it would sound to me) would technically be using it as a past participle, and thereby making a passive-voice sentence that would have had any of my former high school English teachers reaching for their red pen of disapproval. :-)
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Adam SmithApr 8 '11 at 1:48

Despicable and its synonyms are way too strong for this.
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MarthaªApr 6 '11 at 23:31

As you can see I said it myself, but I thought I could give him a wider view. Plus, I also included woeful, which is not that strong or at least this is how I see it, also considering its translation in my language.
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AlenannoApr 6 '11 at 23:46

1

My point is that they're not "a bit too strong", but "way way way too strong". As in, incorrect. (I also don't think woeful and pitiable would work too well, but they're acres better than despicable and its ilk.)
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MarthaªApr 7 '11 at 0:28

2

@Martha: +1 for “acres better”. Best comparative I’ve seen in a while, by several bushels.
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PLLApr 7 '11 at 2:07

"tasteless" is my first guess, which upon further consideration is not a 100% hit.

"proof for bad education" is my second guess.

Third is "suboptimal", being quite an understatement, but transporting the message with a bit of humor, and leaving enough room for interpretation that the socks-in-a-sandal-wearers are not really hurt, yet reach those who hate that combination.

Fourth is the German word "abstossend" in English, which as far as I know is "abhorrent", or "repellent". The German pick is absolutely appropriate, but I am not sure about the Enlgish word.

How about: common? It's a word often used by the British to express disdain and disparagement. Sometimes used in unison with "muck" as in: "Look at him, picking his nose and "breaking wind" like that. He's as common as muck!"

I wouldn't use it with someone who wears socks under his/her sandals though.